Lorenzo Thomas Dow Yoder - Yoder Family Information

concerns of its kind in Pittsburgh, with a range of territory which covered Western
Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia - its products being candy and
confectionery. In addition to his invention, he formulated his own candy recipes,
improving on his mother=s taffy recipe, including one for horehound drops which were
extremely popular as a cough remedy. Best of all, his mother no longer had to worry
about the future of her family. The little shop near the Eagle Cotton Mill was a thing of
the past. It was with the greatest pride and pleasure that Ann Elizabeth was able to see and
participate in her son=s achievements.
Ann Elizabeth (Kennedy) Yoder died in 1894. She and her husband, Charles
Thomas Yoder, are buried in Allegheny Cemetery, Section 23, Lot 95 in Pittsburgh.
With new horizons to reach and boundless ambition, Lorenzo ultimately sold his
candy manufacturing interest to two of his salesmen - Weaver and Costello - and devoted
himself to real estate and financial matters. He organized and became president and chief
owner of the Yoder Land Company which was capitalized at $200,000. The company
was occupied with the purchase of unimproved properties in various sections of a growing
Pittsburgh, as well as the laying out of streets and the building and sale of houses. He was
also principal owner of West Penn Gas Company, capitalized at $275,000, which provided
fuel to new and existing mills from Apollo to Tarentum in the Kiskiminitas and Allegheny
River valleys. He served as president of the gas company Board of Directors for many
years. It was during this time that he built as his permanent residence, a large home at 1232
Murray Hill Avenue where he raised his children. The edifice was of his own design,
containing thirteen rooms, including two baths (one tiled), a conservatory, a library, a
nursery, and hot water heat.
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